My mom and aunt established a Sunday morning bicycling routine a long time ago. I have no idea when they started it but I remember that at some point – when I had passed the teenage years and my twenties, the age known for “having to sleep in because I partied too hard on Saturday night” – I was grown up enough to get my chunk out of bed in time to enjoy the early hours of many a peaceful Sunday mornings. And I can tell you: It’s been worth it every single time.

So on today’s Sunday I rose and shone (maybe not so brightly to begin with ;-)) early as we agreed to meet at my – other – aunt’s house to have breakfast. She invited us over and we happily agreed to show up on time at 8:30am. This aunt, Marie, came to visit me in Austin with my mom and her friend in May 2015. Then last year she went through a rough spot and it was our pleasure to accept her invitation, seeing how she was in a much better place by now.

I thoroughly enjoyed today’s ride from Hausen am Albis, my place of residence high over the city of Zug down to the lake, along its shore to Arth and finally all the way around the lake and – yes – back up the hill again. At its altitude of 611 meters (2’005 ft) some might consider it a mountain J (in Switzerland a mountain only starts at the elevation of 1’000 meters = 3’281 ft).

Do you have a year-long routine you don’t quite know/remember how or why it started?

It is the time of the year when young birds leave their nest and so it’s probably no wonder that I happened upon this little fella on one of my last runs. Of course, I didn’t touch him or anything, just watched him sit there for a while, hoping that his family would find him and finish the job of teaching him how to fly.Es ist wieder die Jahreszeit der flügge werdenden Vögel und so scheint es wohl wenig erstaunlich, dass ich auf einem meiner letzten Läufe diesem kleinen Kerlchen begegnet bin. Natürlich habe ich ihn nicht angefasst sondern nur für eine Weile beobachtet, wie er geduldig dasitzt. Ich hoffte inständig, dass seine Familie ihn finden und ihm das Fliegen noch fertig beibringen würde.

On Saturday’s run a couple of bicyclists and fellow runners had to disturb a wedding party about to take pictures on this little footbridge down at Lady Bird Lake close to Longhorn Dam. It was drizzling at the time so they first had to remove the humongous pile of umbrellas they had piled up at the end/beginning of the bridge 🙂Auf meinem Samstags-Lauf mussten einige Velofahrer und Mit-Läufer eine Hochzeitsgesellschaft stören, die gerade dabei war, Fotos auf dieser kleinen Holzbrücke beim Lady Bird Lake nahe des Longhorn Dams zu schiessen. Es nieselte und so musste die Gesellschaft erst einmal den enormen Haufen Regenschirme aus dem Weg räumen, die sich am Anfang/Ende der Brücke aufgetürmt hatte 🙂

They’re a regular sight on my Town Lake runs.

The other day I finally stopped and took a picture of a flock of geese that I come upon quite frequently on my runs along Town Lake. I don’t know what it is about geese but they always make me smile. Their looks are very similar to that of swans but the latter have a tendency to scare me while geese just seem so much friendlier, not sure why. Probably because no goose ever tried to peck my brother to mush in his stroller back when he was a baby.Kürzlich habe ich mir endlich die Mühe gemacht anzuhalten und ein Foto dieser Gänseschar, die mir recht oft auf meinen Läufen um den Town Lake begegnet, zu machen. Ich bin mir nicht ganz im Klaren darüber, warum mich Gänse immer zum Grinsen bringen. Gänse sehen ja Schwänen ganz schön ähnlich, aber die Letzteren beunruhigen mich eher, während Gänse so viel freundlicher wirken; keine Ahnung. Vielleicht weil keine Gans je versucht hat, meinen Bruder in seinem Kinderwagen zu Brei zu picken als er noch ein Baby war.

While Switzerland and parts of Germany and France – see a photo of the Seine’s high waters that my boss sent me from Paris below almost got swamped off the continent Texas can’t complain about shortage of water either. What’s good for lakes and aquifers is not necessarily great on streets as owing to the rocky ground the water isn’t absorbed easily and even the tiniest thunderstorm quickly sends cars all over the place: Aquaplaning is the rule and very often water streams across streets in streams which might look relatively harmless but considering that only 2 feet of moving water can carry away a large car or even a bus makes you think twice about driving through anything more than a trickle.

Oftentimes houses are left partially flooded but since we’re living on a hill the worst I have to deal with is usually smaller obstacles such as I encountered earlier this week on one of my runs:Oftmals blieben Häuser teilweise überflutet zurück, doch da wir auf einem Hügel wohnen, endet starker Regen für mich meist eher in leichten Hindernissen wie Anfang der Woche auf einem Lauf:

Luckily I was able to bypass the hindrance safely and without any poison ivy attacks.
On the last piece of my run I got to encounter how high the lake’s waters really were – the kayak rental was totally submerged:Glücklicherweise konnte ich das Hindernis sicher und ohne Giftefeu-Attake umgehen. Auf den letzten Metern dann sah ich auch wie hoch der See tatsächlich stand – die Kajakvermietung total unter Wasser:

And my visit to the hairdresser didn’t have a whole lot to do with water either except for when the haircutter washed my hair but after the appointment I was so happy with my total overhaul that I even took a rare selfie:Und auch mein Auflug zum Frisör gestern hatte nur beim Haare waschen mit Wasser zu tun, aber ich war nach dem Besuch so happy mit meiner Totalrenovation, dass ich sogar ein rares Selfie schoss:

And today’s run even had no connection to water whatsoever except for the fact that I ran around Town Lake. For once the dam’s lock were opened considerably, hopefully making jogging around Town Lake possible without having to circumvent wet obstacles.
But in exchange a nice surprise awaited be on my way to my usual starting spot along the lake (and once again – this had absolutely nothing to do with water…): I got into a traffic jam. And when wanting to check the reason of the congestion I discovered to my deepest concern that I must be the reason for it:Und der heutige Lauf hatte eigentlich überhaupt nichts mit Wasser zu tun, abgesehen davon, dass ich am Town Lake entlang lief. Für einmal waren auch die Schleusen des Stausees ziemlich weit offen, so dass hoffentlich bald wieder ein Joggen ohne feuchte Hindnisse zu umgehen möglich sein wird. Dafür wartete auf dem Weg zu meinem üblichen Startplatz eine Überraschung auf mich: Ich geriet in einen Stau. Und als ich auf der Karte nachgucken wollte, was den Stau verursacht musste ich mit Schrecken feststellen – dass ich es sein musste:

We’ve had a couple of flowerpots on our patio for quite a while now and to my delight – and in spite of my really-not-so-green-thumb – the flowers continued to bloom. Until one day a squirrel took a liking to one of the plants. It started digging up the soil and munching the flowers and fresh leaves off.Schon seit einem Weilchen haben wir zwei Blumenkübel auf unserem Balkon und zu meinem Entzücken – und trotz meines wirklich-nicht-so-grünen-Daumens – haben die Blumen kontinuierlich geblüht. Bis eines Tages ein Eichhörnchen anfing, Gefallen an einer der Pflanzen zu finden. Es begann damit, die Erde aufzuwühlen und die Blumen und frischen Blätter abzuknabbern.

The other flower was never touched for some reason – until yesterday. When I came home from work the most pitiful sight awaited me: All that was left were some leafless flower stalks.Die andere Blume wurde seltsamerweise nie angerührt – bis gestern. Als ich von der Arbeit nach Hause kam, erwartete mich der armseligste Anblick: Alles was übrig geblieben ist, sind die blattlosen Blumenstängel.

The little black dots on my face and neck: Not freckles but gnats…

Deeply annoyed but motivated by the finally sunny weather I went for a run. And Mother Nature threw all the gnats it could find at me. So I avoided breathing through my mouth. Which had me catch a whole army of them in my nose. Back home when I blew my nose a whole armada of gnats streamed out. I’m pretty sure I ingested and inhaled some as well which would explain why all of a sudden I heard – and felt – that ominous rumble in my guts that you never wish to hear and especially not feel. Least of all when you’re on a run. I had to run home real fast to make it to the restroom on time…

Sometimes I’m a little slow, I have to admit. Not so frequently with jokes, though it can happen. Especially with jokes that only really start to be funny when you’ve heard them for the umpteenth time. It’s a little like saying “tree” twenty times in a row until the word loses all meaning and thus starts to sound funny.

But it can happen that I create a riddle for myself without even knowing that I’m doing it. One such conundrum oftentimes presented itself to me when I got ready for a run, as it just so happened last Saturday. I was planning on jogging through the woods behind our house and thus opted for the running cap instead of the headband. The reasons for this are twofold: Firstly – it’s not as bright in the woods as it can be along Lake Austin so I don’t necessarily need sunglasses. It’s even preferable not to wear sunglasses among the trees and shrubberies as spotting strange shadows might be helpful in keeping my health. Secondly – for the same reasons I’m not listening to any music while running through the forest so I’m not in need of the headbands added stability to keep my earphones lodged in my ears.

Anyway, whenever I put on my cap for a run I noticed that my head must have increased in size for it was way too tight since the last run. Even if I didn’t wash it in between – sorry, I know it’s gross but it happens. It was a mystery to me. Until this Saturday. I finally figured it out. One has to know that even though it might be hot in Texas, there’s oftentimes a nice moderate breeze in the air. Passing over a bridge crossing Ladybird Lake this breeze usually picks up some strengths, making it necessary to tie the cap as tight around my head as possible. But why then does it not fit over my head before I start a run? Of course! Because my hair is not yet damp with sweat and pressed down, but still soft and fluffy and even though I have fairly fine and thin hair it seems to be enough to make wearing the cap with those same settings from last time rather uncomfy. Well, there we have it – every day is a school day!

Texas Bluebonnet… which to the dismay of all Texans I keep calling Blue Bells 😀

On a more general note I can announce that with the blooming of our flowers on our patio and especially the Texas Bluebonnets starting to show themselves in all their glory, spring officially ousted a never really present winter.

Remember that conference I mentioned in my last blog post? (Für Deutsch hier klicken) Well, it turned into one of the most splendid conferences I’ve ever attended. We were busy but also had lots of fun. And here’s proof that my urge to doodle doesn’t leave me outside conference doors – in my mind my manager’s diagram strongly resembled a couple of minions; and that’s what I turned it into:

I love creative business meetings!

Jill Ellis

My personal highlight of the conference – a motivational speak by the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Coach Jill Ellis – was contrasted by the only downside of the conference: The never changing effect that air-conditioning has on me; Friday morning had me wake up to a massive throat ache. Thus I left the conference a tad early (skipping the gala diner…) to go into hibernation. This way I slept right through half of the most gorgeous weekends this land has ever seen – this year 🙂 But dreaming about it was almost as good as actually enjoying it on Sunday:

The weekend before the conference my friend sent me picture from Port Stephens, Australia, where she attended a Cirque du Soleil show called – wait for it – Luzia:

My very own personal show – I like!!

Now last week, still coughing my way out of the cold-zone, I was presented with an incident that at first enraged, but then quite amazed me. The week before, in a timely manner, I mailed the documents the U.S. government requires in order to – hopefully – remove the conditions on my U.S. resident permit (for all of you curious enough: it’s got to do with the fact that I obtained my green card based on marriage… now of course the government wants to make sure this is not a fake marriage, totally understand). As mentioned, I submitted the whole stack of paper in time, even considering the sometimes questionable efficiency of postal services. But I was taught better: The mail arrived in such a timely manner that homeland security actually received everything one day too early. One day.And thus last Monday I found the package back in my mailbox which taught me a thing or three: The postal services work more efficiently than we may give them credit for. And the government has rules that are being followed to the letter. Even if it means filling in a pre-printed form and costs $10 in stamps. Note: Even here rules are not mere guidelines… seriously, I as a Swiss should have known better…

Last week kind of went by in a blur. As they say: Time flies when you’re having fun. [Für Deutsch hier klicken] A week ago I finally got myself the desk I’ve been admiring every time I went to Michaels, one of the art and hobby shops nearby. Unfortunately, the little stool that came with it was broken so we had to hunt for a replacement which gave us the chance to visit IKEA – and what always comes with a visit to IKEA: Having some delicious Swedish meatballs (yes, as if I’m not in the land of meatballs already…) at their restaurant. Anyway, it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed that meal; there you have it.

So we quickly found a stool and a million other little knick-knacks such as candles; this too is customary when visiting IKEA. Now the stool we found is made of aluminum or some other light metal. It’s a great stool, just slightly cold to the touch and hard as pebbles when sitting on it for a long time – which I tend to do when doodling. So a cushion had to be hunted down and my loving husband found it for me on Amazon in the form of an air disk that is usually used for hyper-active kids or physical therapy and the likes to increase balancing abilities and strengthen the core muscles.

After I’d been set up like that the week could come on. And come on it did. Monday started off busy at work so I was once again immensely grateful for my Monday evening yoga session. It gives me a break after the first work day of the week and sets a good intention and example for the rest of the week to come.

Diana Krall & band in action

Wednesday we had tickets for an “ACL Live” concert with Diana Krall at Moody Theater on 2nd street downtown Austin. I only got to know Diana Krall through our drives to the gulf this late summer/early fall as she’s one of my better half’s constant companions in his music collection. When I saw her name on the concert list I immediately asked to get tickets and was very excited when it all came together. What a nice change to all the grunge, punk and rock concerts I usually drag my patient husband. I was very excited to go to a live Jazz concert for once and wasn’t disappointed. The band was fabulous, playing solos over and over and Diana Krall’s voice is absolutely gorgeous; that low jazzy purr that gives the tunes an additional dimension. Apparently her purr was so soothing that the guy next to me fell asleep with the first note and only stirred to life when the audience gave their enthusiastic applause. But then I have to say he was an estimated 150 years old so that’s quite alright. If I still make it to the city at that age I sure would think I’m allowed a little nap when the occasion (= halfway comfy seat) arises.

We started the evening off by having dinner at a Caribbean restaurant, I believe it was called “Bla” or some such thing which immediately won me over. That and the delicious sounding menu. My better half had what I call “meat on a stick”, it was – if I remember correctly – beef on the bone in a delicious sauce and the meat was so tender that it almost fell apart all by itself. It very much reminded me of my mom’s venison red wine stew that she very often prepares with beef instead of venison. I went for the classic pork chop with pineapple honey sauce. It was heavenly.

Mandala no. 1

Thursday evening greeted me with drinks and a potential match of ping pong with the marketing girls from the office. Though the drinks (namely wheat beer for me) and a lot of talk did happen, the table tennis match never came to pass. The lady who organized the whole thing informed me that she was talking to my boss a while ago and he mentioned that he hadn’t played ping pong for the longest time and that he would love to play a friendly game at some point. Unfortunately, owing to an important meeting he had offsite he was not able to join us. Ah well, maybe next

Mandala no. 2

time. And then we may actually even play. For I’m eager to change the memory of my last ping pong game I played like over a decade ago: I remember going in for a low forehand and smashing my thumb up against the (somehow very sharp) under edge of the ping pong table and subsequently watching my thumbnail changing colors like an animated rainbow.

That’s what “steep” running looks like…

Friday evening was all about zentangling Mandalas and Saturday I closed the week off by running a “steep” run along Ladybird Lake against a preeeetty stiff breeze.

Hope you all had a wonderful week, a fabulous weekend and are off to great start into this new – and for the U.S. residents amongst us very short (yay!!) – work week!

At the beginning of last week I wouldn’t have thought it possible that the week would end with so much commotion. While I pursued my usual activities – raising to a challenge (28 day plank challenge) and preparing for such (half-marathon in Austin in February 2016) – Friday was not only characterized by our office Halloween, but mostly by massive flooding and seven (as far as I’m informed) tornadoes that left a swath of destruction in and around Austin. The flood claimed at least 6 lives while the tornadoes left the usual scene of destruction (photos at the end of the report).

Carved Cheshire Cat Grin Pumpkin

Fortunately, October closed on Saturday on a friendlier notion with dry and occasionally even sunny weather and a cozy evening with watching movies and carving and coloring pumpkins.

Saturday – which used to be “Caturday” – was as perfect a day as can be… without our tigers. But I realize I have to stop saying that. My life continues and time moves on so I have to move with it and I’m no good to anyone grieving forever. (Für Deutsch hier klicken)

So the first thing that made my day perfect was sleeping in. I slept like a log until exactly 12:49. It was wonderful. I told a friend that I constantly felt exhausted since the cats died, mourning sure uses a lot of energy, especially crying. Accordingly, sleeping in was exactly what I needed. I then got up to drink my usual cup or two of coffee, accompanied by the lecture of “flow”, a Sweden based magazine that specializes in tips and tricks on how to slow down your life. Which makes you live in the here and now and I realize how important that is not only in general but especially for me in this very situation, dealing with loss.

After both my better half and I read for about two hours we decided to go get some sun and exercise in the fresh air. We went for a walk along the green belt and to Zilker Park which was most interesting for I hadn’t seen so much water in the creek since we moved to Austin. It was an impressive sight compared to the usual trickle.

We were also pleased to find Zilker Park in very good shape. Only a few muddy patches are left from Memorial Day’s downpours and flooding. In general I have to say this is Texas at its prettiest: Royal blue skies, a sun as yellow as a lemon, scattered feathery clouds, lush green vegetation and still lots of flowers blooming in all the colors of the rainbow.

On our way back my beloved husband asked me if he could cook me dinner… I know, how dare he??!? 😀 Of course I agreed and upon our return home we jumped into the car and drove to Central Market to get some nice, fat steaks and lots of greens. And they totally won me over: The veggies were so mouthwateringly delicious that I could by far not finish my steak. But hey – leftovers can be such a great thing!

We ended the day by watching a movie on Netflix: “The Aviator”. I found it most interesting to learn a little more about the beginnings of commercial air travel and its icons TWA and Pan Am. Though I wouldn’t have recognized Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Leo DiCaprio’s performance was once again outstanding.

The interesting note of the day we got from a guy we met outside the gas station where we got ourselves some drinks on our walk. He left the store with two six packs, one in a white plastic bag, the other one not packed up at all. He was all confused and anxious about it since he’s from Atlanta where apparently alcohol has to be carried in either black or brown bags (basically, they can’t be see-through). The guy also mentioned that the streets here in Texas were crazy and that he missed his “Waffle Houses”. That made me smile for quite obviously you don’t have to cross a whole ocean to miss things and find stuff confusing 🙂

PS: Sorry, no pictures from my side today; I consciously didn’t take any as all I wanted this Saturday was to concentrate on and enjoy the moment.